Giant robots, done right. Was that so hard?

Rating: 10/10 (15 July 2013)

Granted I went into Pacific Rim hoping to enjoy it, but keep in mind that with me that actually means a greater chance of disappointment.
Which I was not.
Does the world in which Jagers exist make a lick of sense? No. How on earth does punching Kaiju with giant metal fists make more sense than launching Tomahawk missiles at them (my nerdling explanation here is that the radioactive nature of the creatures prevent long range weapons from working properly, but still) Fact is, if that is the kind of detail that is a deal breaker for you, then you are way too nitpicky and will not enjoy this movie.
But. If you are the kind of person who grew up a fan of Godzilla movies, or Japanese Giant Robot cartoons (not Robotech but the Grandzier variety) or hell, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, I can't see how you won't love this movie.
Personally I fall in the middle category. Was never big into Godzilla and was a bit too old for Power Rangers when it first came out, but those Giant Robot cartoons with the superhero like super science? I dug it. Granted when Robotech came along I vastly preferred the slightly more realistic/militaristic approach, and if anything that is the middle ground Pacific Rim falls into.
Plot wise we're talking a straight forward story. You have the invasion scenario, you have the military response, you have teams of pilots. Characterization is done fine, but a problem I think some people have is that they're expecting TOO much from Del Toro, as if he's not just suppose to do better than Transformers but give us a deep window to the human condition with giant robots punching monsters as window dressing.
Let's put this movie in it's proper place. It's Top Gun. It's Star Wars. It's The Matrix without the psudo-philosophy and impossible human battery science in favour of impossible giant robot science. That's the kind of movie you're going to watch. To quote an oft-used internet meme: it ain't Citizen Kane. Nor is it supposed to be.
Only one character I actively thought was full on super-cliché and that was the Iceman clone (though what happens at the end with him is better). Ron Pearlman is perhaps underused, but it's always great to see him show up.
I was also surprised how I didn't mind the 3D effects. I'm not a fan of 3D (didn't have a choice in the matter), but this worked fine in that medium. It was obvious when it needed to be and wasn't when it didn't. Still not worth paying extra for, but usually there are moments where the 3D bugs me and this didn't have any of them.
If I were to go into geek mode I could nitpick the hell out of it, as I alluded to before. But where Del Toro succeeds is that I didn't want to. I was too busy enjoying myself, and wishing I could see more of this world. My major complaint is that it was too short – by about ten hours.
What I mean is this would have been great as a series rather than a movie, to flesh out more of the characters and give the consequences more weight. Heck, so much backstory is just hinted at in the first half hour, showing the early years of the Kaiju war, I would have loved to have seen more of that as well. Or watching them effectively become independent contractors when they lose their funding. And more time to get to know the pilot teams. Because even action movies can have characters that are developed enough for you to care about what happens to them, and I don't think this movie had enough time to do that for some of them.
Taken for what this is, this succeeded where Hollywood almost always fails.
Giant robots, done right. Was that so hard?